"To all who knew or were cared for by Frank — from his frailest young patients to their grateful parents to his colleagues at the Medical Center and Medical School — we grieve with you and share your immeasurable loss," the statement said.

According to the statement, Dr. Bednarek was also professor of pediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology at UMass Medical School. He joined the organization in 1975, and that year became a member of the medical staff in the neonatal intensive care unit, the region's only Level III NICU for high-risk obstetrical and neonatal care. According to the statement, under Dr. Bednarek's leadership, the NICU has gained an international reputation for quality of care and its philosophy of including families as an integral part of care teams.